


in your possession

by mayuaka



Series: your spirit lies with mine [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Puppet Cloud Strife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25374679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayuaka/pseuds/mayuaka
Summary: “You should rest, Cloud,” Sephiroth murmured, gazing down at him. He stared back into green cat-slit eyes, and as Cloud’s vision got hazier they seemed to glow.Cloud hummed in agreement. Something tugged at the back of his mind, like maybe he’d forgotten to do something? It couldn’t have been that important if he didn’t remember, and besides, he really did feel so awfully tired.Cloud escapes Shinra Manor and heads to Midgar with the help of his assigned demon, Sephiroth.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: your spirit lies with mine [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784065
Comments: 12
Kudos: 160





	1. Chapter 1

Blue-green. No...purple? There were bubbles rising. He couldn’t make out much beyond that. If he put out his hand...there, it met something solid. His palm slid across it.

_ Need to break it. _

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, something shattered—there was a loud rushing in his ears, and he fell forward with a  _ thump. _ Ow, that hurt. He slowly pushed himself up with his hands, disoriented, and nearly cut himself on the glass shards littering the floor. The glass and the ground around it was stained with an odd violet liquid that kept bubbling at the edges—what  _ was _ that? He turned back around to find a broken glass tank that continued to ooze the same fluid. Looking down, he was covered in it, too. Gross. It was sort of sticky and he instinctively tried to wipe his hands on his pants before remembering that they were also soaked in it. He sighed and looked around.

The walls were lined with bookshelves and a desk sat in the middle of it—it seemed familiar, for some reason—but the most concerning thing was the second tank that stood next to the one he had presumably just broken out of. The liquid looked purple, too, though it was murky, as if someone had spilled black ink in it. Wisps of black floated behind the glass, mostly concealing whatever was inside. 

He carefully avoided the glass shards on the floor and got as close as he could, nose centimeters from the tank. If he squinted just right—oh! It looked like a person was in there, unconscious. Maybe there was a way to open the tank without just smashing the glass? He didn’t want to accidentally hurt whoever was stuck in there. 

_ Break it. _

Break it...yeah, just break it. There. Glass splintered, more of that weird fluid spilled onto the ground, and he rushed forward to catch the person inside, shouldering them out of the way of the debris to the other side of the room. It wasn’t until he set them on the floor that he got a good look at their face.

“Zack? Zack!” He dropped to the ground to listen for breathing, for a heartbeat, for anything. 

_ It’s too late. _

“No! No, it can’t be! Please…” When he leaned over, closer, there wasn’t anything at all. No...no...why? Was he already dead inside there? Or did Cloud accidentally…

_ Not your fault. _

Even if it wasn’t, he was still…! He couldn’t do anything, in the end. Couldn’t avenge Zack—what had happened? Zack was—

_ A friend. _

Zack was his friend, and something terrible had happened. But when he tried to recall it, tried to think of how they had gotten here, he just  _ couldn’t.  _ A throbbing pain suddenly shot through his head. He clutched the side of it, gasping, vision blurring—or was that the tears streaming down his cheeks? Zack was gone, now, and he was left here, scared and shaking and crying and alone—

_ Not alone. _

Not alone? 

_ Summon me. _

He needed chalk. He searched the desk, which only had pens. No, wait, there was probably a permanent pentacle somewhere around here; it was a lab, after all. He wandered down a hallway to another room. More books, no markings on the floor. That was inconvenient. There were glass shards back in the other room...ah, the essence, perhaps? Though he didn’t know what would happen if you drew a pentacle using it. He shrugged and walked back to the tanks. Using the shard, he smeared the fluid onto the floor. It wasn’t very neat, but it would suffice. 

Would drawing just one work? Better to not risk it. He drew the one the summoner was supposed to stand in, too, and stepped inside. The words—yes, Cloud remembered them. He pulled from that memory—and summoned himself.

It was disconcerting. He was in both pentacles at the same time, seeing himself and Cloud overlaid on top of each other. The images blurred together; two sets of images and senses assaulted his essence, tearing his focus apart. When Cloud inhaled, he could feel the rise and fall of his chest, could hear the sound of it in his ears and as if from a distance away at the same time—much too disorienting to keep up for long. He let his presence drift.

“Sephiroth?”

The demon stood across from him in a pentacle that shimmered in the light. Sephiroth reached out a hand. “Cloud, here.”

He wasn’t quite sure why, but he stepped forward and took it. His bare hand met the leather of Sephiroth’s gloves, staining it with the purple liquid. “Oh! I’m sorry.”

Sephiroth curled his other arm around Cloud’s back, pulling him close. He laughed softly. “I can just change it, remember?” The purple disintegrated, and Cloud looked up at him. Something felt  _ right,  _ being so close to Sephiroth. Like he’d found a piece of himself he didn't even know he was missing. He sank into the touch easily, and didn’t protest when Sephiroth picked him up and carried him sideways, cradling him in his arms. The liquid dissipated wherever they met, disappearing into thin air without a sound. “You should rest, Cloud,” Sephiroth murmured, gazing down at him. He stared back into green cat-slit eyes, and as Cloud’s vision got hazier they seemed to glow.

Cloud hummed in agreement. Something tugged at the back of his mind, like maybe he’d forgotten to do something? It couldn’t have been that important if he didn’t remember, and besides, he really did feel so awfully tired. He closed his eyes and sank into the comforting embrace.

* * *

The soft crackle of a fire reached his ears. He rolled over and blinked sleepily, yawning. There wasn’t a fireplace in his room, the last time he checked.

He shot up and looked frantically around for the clock. Had he overslept for training? Shit—

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Sephiroth sat cross-legged on the other side of the fire, head tilted slightly to the side. 

“Where...am I?” He was on the floor of a building, though there wasn’t hardly anything else in the room that he could make out from the flames, just concrete walls that were cracked and falling apart in some places, showing the pitch-black night outside.

“An abandoned building,” Sephiroth answered unhelpfully. Cloud had already figured  _ that  _ out. 

“Are we…?” He rubbed at his eyes. Sephiroth stayed the same, impassive. At this angle it looked like the flames would catch onto his hair any second. “Are we on a mission?”

“I suppose you could call it that.” Sephiroth propped his elbow up on his knee and rested his chin in his palm. His hair cascaded to one side, looking almost ethereal, framed by sparks from the fire. 

He tried to recall what had happened. A...mako reactor? Yeah, him and Sephiroth were investigating a mako reactor. And then… “What happened?”

Sephiroth straightened up languidly, almost in slow motion. Cloud blinked. Sephiroth looked down into the flames, and said, as if he was making a comment about the weather, “You had a bit of a fall.”

“I hit my head?”

“You fell into the mako, Cloud.” 

Oh...that was probably why his memory was all weird and spotty. “You saved me?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Clearly.”

A gust of wind blew through the cracks in the wall. He shivered and became deeply aware of how cold the floor was. He inched a little closer to the fire.

Sephiroth watched as he placed his hands as close as he dared to warm himself up. A minute passed. Then, Sephiroth stood up and walked over to him, sitting down close enough that their knees were touching. Something soft brushed over his back, his bare arms. A black wing curled around his body protectively. “Is that better?”

So close. So warm. He scooted over so that he could lay his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder. If he was more awake he’d wonder where the pauldrons had gone, but it didn’t matter right now.

“I’m assuming that’s a yes.”

“Why are we here?” Cloud mumbled into his shoulder.

“Resting for the night.”

“Demons don’t need sleep, do they?”

“Spirits don’t require physical rest, no. But humans do, unfortunately.”

“Mmm. But wasn’t I asleep earlier?”

“You’re falling asleep on me right now.”

Cloud couldn’t argue with that. He shifted his head a bit and closed his eyes. “Thanks for saving me, Seph.”

He felt Sephiroth tense underneath him, around him. His wing flapped out straight, uncurling abruptly. Cloud’s eyes shot open, and he straightened up, turning to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

Sephiroth looked...shaken. His gaze was fixed on the far wall. He didn’t blink. (Not that demons needed to do that.) His already thin pupils got even thinner.

Cloud waved a hand in front of his face. “Seph?”

Time unfroze. Sephiroth looked back at him, expression blank. Then he smiled reassuringly, wrapped his wing back around him (Cloud shivered as the feathers brushed his arms again), and said, “I apologize. Got distracted for a moment.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can dismiss you if you want.” Cloud’s memory might be a little messy, but he still knew how to do that, at least. He was worried—he didn’t know how long ago Sephiroth had last gotten his own rest. 

“No, I’m alright.” Sephiroth took Cloud’s hand in his. It was nice. His gloves were gone and their fingers tangled together. “Actually, let me help you jog your memory before you fall asleep again.”

“Okay,” he agreed. He was still kind of sleepy, though remembering would be good.

“What’s your name?”

Cloud scoffed. “I know  _ that, _ ” he whined. 

“If you do, then it’ll be easy to answer, right?”

He sighed. “I’m Cloud Strife.”

“Good. What’s your occupation?”

“1st Class SOLDIER. Also your babysitter, apparently.”

Sephiroth’s eyes widened. “Ah...what a nice way to put it. And what am I to you?”

“Hm...a friend, I guess? Or a really weird kind of coworker.”

“A friend. How cute. What are we on a mission for?”

“Uh, I don’t know that one, actually.”

“We’re heading back to Midgar.”

“Oh! I remember now. We went to the reactor in Nibelheim, right? But there wasn’t anything there.”

“Right. Very good, Cloud.”

It was so clear now—he remembered visiting his mom, staying at the inn, heading up to the reactor. He smiled to himself and basked in the warmth that Sephiroth seemed to radiate all over. Were all demons this warm? 

He drifted off to sleep again in no time, content.

* * *

“Cloud! Cloud, can you hear me?” 

“Huh?” He sat up. He was in the mako reactor, and he could have sworn he heard someone calling for him. Looking around, though, he was alone in the room. There was a large tank at the end of the walkway that he couldn’t make out the contents of from here. It was probably filled with mako, from the blue-green glow around it.

As he got closer, he could make out...something. Vaguely human-shaped. He reached out to touch the glass.

_ shatter _

(“Sleep, Cloud,” a familiar voice whispered, and everything went black.)

It was himself, but  _ wrong.  _ Younger-looking and dressed in an infantry uniform. He blinked. A familiar curved sword was in not-him’s hands. And then it was—

Oh. Blood. blood blood blood purple? His body was held up by the blade stabbed through his chest. Wait, it was gone. Oh, no, red was getting everywhere now. That wasn’t good. He needed that blood. Or was it purple? The other version of himself helpfully brought the sword forward again to stop it from leaking. But after a second, it was gone again. Hmm. How was he supposed to tell the other him that it wasn’t working?

_ kill him kill him kill him _

He blinked.

“Cloud?”

Sephiroth looked down at him, concerned. His face was upside down. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I...think I had a dream?” He was lying in Sephiroth's lap, though he wasn’t sure when he’d ended up there.

“Do you remember what it was?” Sephiroth asked, while running a hand gently through Cloud’s hair. He leaned into the touch automatically.

“No...not really.” Someone had called his name, he was pretty sure, and there was a lingering sense of worry. But all the details were gone.

“The sun is rising,” Sephiroth observed, breaking Cloud out of his thoughts. Light was indeed beginning to show through the cracks. “And now—”

Ah. That was better. He’d let control slip while Cloud was sleeping; he hadn’t expected his own memories to mix with Cloud’s. It  _ was _ such a pity that the physical body needed to rest. 

For now, he became the wisp of blue-green that followed Cloud, and continued the journey back towards Midgar. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in the final arc now :O i hope you enjoyed where it's going, thank you so much for reading <3


	2. Chapter 2

The next time he woke up, the ground was surprisingly soft.

He shifted onto his side. The blanket covering his body moved with him. Next to the bed he was lying on was a small table with a lamp, and a second bed on the other side. Beyond that, the curtains were drawn over two large windows. Sephiroth sat on the other bed, staring blankly at the far wall. 

There wasn’t anything particularly wrong, it just felt...like there was something he was missing? His last memory...ugh, thinking about it too hard made his head spin. The mako must have really messed him up. He sat up slowly, still feeling groggy.

Sephiroth turned at the sound of the blanket moving against the sheets. “Cloud?”

“Hey,” he said, or rather tried to. His voice came out raspy, and he cleared his throat. “I’m still feeling a bit...weird?”

“That’s to be expected.” Sephiroth smiled at him reassuringly. “Why don’t you take a shower while we’re staying here? It might help clear your mind.”

“Yeah, I will.” He pushed the covers off, and as he opened the bathroom door he realized what was off—Sephiroth, for some reason, had shifted into the 1st Class SOLDIER uniform. That looked exactly like the one Cloud wore. Huh. Well, at least he’d figured that out. 

The warm water did wonders for his exhaustion. He stepped out and toweled off, catching his reflection in the mirror above the sink—mostly obscured by condensation, but—

He blinked. Green, cat-slit eyes blinked back at him. Should he be...panicking? Was it a side effect? Sephiroth would know, right? His heart beat a little too fast as he pulled his clothes back on, and that’s when he noticed it. 

A long, thin scar across his left arm, like it’d been sliced open. He should have remembered where that came from; it would have taken a while to heal. 

His panic rose.

He checked his other arm. There wasn’t anything else, even the scar on his chest was—No, no, wrong, why did that memory keep coming up? Cloud wasn’t supposed to have it. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

A knock at the door. “Cloud? Are you alright?”

He was frozen in place. His chest constricted and he couldn’t _breathe, couldn’t—_

“Cloud.” Arms wrapped around him, soothing him, fingers gently patting his head and stroking his back. He closed his eyes and pressed back against the solid line of Sephiroth’s body, taking distressingly shallow breaths. “Cloud,” Sephiroth repeated like he was casting a Cure spell, slowing his heartbeat, helping him calm down. “Cloud,” he said, again, barely audible. Cloud made a soft, strangled noise into his chest. Oh, he was crying.

“Let’s get you to lie down.” Cloud nodded shakily. Sephiroth scooped him up in his arms like he was nothing and set him back down on the bed, moving the blanket back in place. That would just have to do for now; Cloud would fall asleep eventually.

“Seph,” Cloud whispered as he turned away. He looked back around. Cloud’s eyes were red-rimmed from his tears, still watery and distorting the blue of his irises. “Please.”

What else was he supposed to do? He’d never had to comfort a human like this. 

(No, the thing was he was supposed to destroy its will. So why hadn’t he done that already? It would be tiring to deal with this constantly, and it was getting worse. He was only delaying the inevitable.)

“ _Sleep,_ Cloud,” he cast, more forcefully than he needed to, and what he should have done in the beginning. He refused to look back at Cloud after that. 

* * *

“The stars,” Cloud murmured, laying on top of the sleeping bag and staring up at the sky.

“The...stars?”

“I remember...the water tower. I was looking for you.”

“What?”

“I wanted to see you again. That’s why I joined SOLDIER.”

Cloud didn’t elaborate further. Sephiroth looked up at the stars himself as if he might find the answer there. 

“Am I...getting better?”

“Yes,” he lied. “You just remembered that, after all.”

“Yeah. I promised my friend I would help her, but…” Cloud sighed and looked over at Sephiroth with a startling amount of clarity. “I think—” He frowned. “You’re different.”

“I’m trying something new.” It was just the sleeveless sweater part of the uniform, the pants, and boots. Less complicated, less to need to focus on.

“Is it more comfortable?”

“That isn’t a concern of mine.”

“It looks nice on you.”

“You do remember—”

“Yeah, but I like it. But why _do_ you appear as a human? Like, you were a cat before, right?”

“You...remember that.”

“Oh! I remembered something new. Do you like being a cat better?”

“Is that what you prefer?”

“It’s up to me?”

He...walked right into that one, didn’t he. Was this what Cloud was? Was this the human that had scattered his essence so strongly for it to be picked apart by Shinra magicians for four years, until he finally gained enough power to take control? This single entity that couldn’t even put enough of his memories back together to realize Sephiroth was his enemy—that had dared to summon him with barely any precaution—speaking to him in such a familiar manner. What part of that was his own doing, if he’d already let go of Cloud at the moment, and what part of that was actually Cloud? 

“Seph?”

“Yes?”

“You zoned out again.” He smiled as if he was privy to a secret. “I’m gonna recount what happened, exactly as I remember, so tell me if I miss something, okay?”

“Cloud—”

“We were in the car, and I told you to change into something else, so you were a cat. And then…” He trailed off. “I think I visited my mom, but I also remember seeing you at the inn?”

“Cloud.”

“Is something wrong?”

Were his _own_ memories wrong? That was impossible. And yet, he also remembered the same things. 

“Did I stay in my house?”

...Did he?

“Seph, do you—”

“ _Don’t_ call me that,” he snapped, and Cloud flinched. Why did he just suddenly lash out like that? What was wrong with him?

“Se—I mean, I can tell you’re getting worse. I should dismiss you.” He began the first few syllables before Sephiroth could stop him. 

In a flash, he got up from the ground and practically _glided_ over to Cloud, abruptly cutting him off by placing a hand over his lips.

“Um,” Cloud said, muffled behind his fingers. His cheeks were pink and his eyes were desperately trying to avoid looking at Sephiroth. Interesting. It was probably more due to the fact that he was practically straddling him rather than the hand against his mouth. He returned back to his spot on the ground (after lingering for a few more seconds, just to make sure Cloud wasn’t going to try that once more). What were they talking about again?

After a moment, Cloud ventured, “But really, are you okay? You were really shaken back there.”

“It’s fine. You should rest, now.”

“Sorry I—” he yawned, then continued, “I’m only ever awake for a few hours.”

 _That’s not your fault,_ he almost blurted. _All of this is my fault._

Focus. He had to focus. Tomorrow, they would reach Midgar. They would reach Shinra. He could not waste this opportunity.

(As he watched Cloud drift off to sleep, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had lost something very, very important.)

* * *

The outside wards on the higher floors were almost suspiciously weak. The Dispel he cast was more than enough to get him through a window to what looked like a display room. Conveniently, there was a sword on one of the pedestals, with enough of a silver coating to make him wince slightly even within Cloud’s body. He broke the glass with a concentrated Fira and took it. It seemed too large to have efficient mobility, though it wouldn’t be a problem for mako-enhanced SOLDIERs, he supposed. He tested Cloud’s strength—he could wield it in one hand and still cast with the other. There were two materia slots lined up with the hilt, empty. 

_Shit,_ his head hurt. He stumbled to the side, sword slipping from his fingers and hitting the floor with a loud _clang._

Cloud sat up. When did he end up on the floor? He looked around, not surprised to wake up somewhere unfamiliar again. But where was Sephiroth?

A turquoise spot bobbed in and out of his vision. He blinked rapidly, but it was still there.

A sword laid on the ground next to him. He felt like he’d seen it somewhere before. Was it his? He reached out for it—

Sephiroth picked up the sword again. It seemed like Cloud had somehow physically pushed his control away for a moment, but how? It must have been the silver on the sword. He eyed it warily and continued through the building.

From there, he moved mechanically up the floors, casting Firaga on any human guards and slicing through any protective wards without a second thought. Everything became clearer the further he went, settling into an easy rhythm of destruction. Flames licked their way across the carpet behind him, stained with a trail of blood that dripped from where a bullet had grazed his shoulder. Further, further, until he reached the very research facilities he himself had been confined in. 

He moved even faster. He killed every magician in sight. He put the spirits bound in tanks out of their misery. His sword shimmered with both blue-green mako and blood, arcing through the air with no hesitation. He caught his reflection in a cracked panel of glass—bright green slit pupils, wild and unfocused, blond spikes of hair flecked with blood. 

As he ascended to the 68th floor, he felt it—the same shift in the air, the pressure around him that drove him close, closer to the center of the room.

“Mother,” he breathed, together with Cloud’s voice. 

_My son. You have partially succeeded._

“Nothing else stands in our way.” This time, he would not fail. This time…

“Cloud! Is that you?”

Hadn’t he killed every moving thing in the floors leading up to here already? He spun around, ready to engulf the rest of the walkway in flames.

Three humans, and a spirit that resembled a red wolf. 

“Cloud...did you…?”

“Wait, Tifa! Don’t get any closer. There’s something really, really off about him.”

“No shit. Looks like we found the guy who massacred security ahead of us.”

“I can sense abnormal levels of spirit essence and mako on him. Most likely possessed.”

“Spirit, we only move through this place in peace. Please, we wish no harm upon you.”

He tilted his head to the side. No, that one was _not_ a human. A Cetra.

“I can help free you,” she said, reaching out a hand towards him. “I only wish to help you.”

He lowered his sword. “Leave, or die.”

“Spirit, what is your goal?”

“Aerith, are you sure…?”

“I think we should listen to the guy. Before we get our asses killed, too.”

“I am not obligated to answer you.” He returned to the tank. Neither the spirit nor the Cetra moved, so he began the counter-spell. He was not going to delay any longer, but he had no desire to kill a Cetra. He hadn’t even known there were any left.

“What’s he doing?”

“I think that’s...it has to be the mother.”

“Indeed. I believe he is going to free her.”

“Mother of what? It says Je—”

“Don’t say it! It’s too dangerous.”

“Is Cloud...gone?”

“I don’t know. He might just be a shell at this point. We...we should get out of here, before it’s too late.”

“Cloud…”

“Let’s go, Tifa. Aerith knows what she’s talking about, there’s no way that guy’s there anymore.”

“...You’re right. Let’s just get Aerith to safety first.”

He listened, though none of it was of any consequence to him. Once he undid the seal, it would only be a matter of time before the entire building collapsed. Perhaps they would get out safely.

He finished his recitation. Carefully, he lifted his fist and struck it against the tank. Cracks spiderwebbed from the spot of impact, spreading quickly throughout the glass until it finally shattered.

Years upon years of trapped, condensed power exploded all at once.

Every other glass tank that he had not already destroyed himself shattered immediately. The ground began to shake violently under his feet, so he took that as his cue to materialize, grasp the now limp body of Cloud in his arms, and fly.

_I will be waiting. Do not delay._

Yes. To the Northern Crater. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it ends up according to plan, the next chapter will probably be the last!! thank you for reading <3


	3. Chapter 3

Blue-green. It was familiar. He moved forward, trying to find the edge.

He moved forward, but there wasn’t anything. No point of reference to see if he’d moved at all. Only the same shimmery blue-green in every direction.

Actually, he wasn’t even _there._ There wasn’t anything that was him. Just his awareness, ebbing and flowing with everything else.

Any amount of time could have passed; anything could have happened among the gossamer strands of turquoise. Everything stood still and continued to move all at once. A steady rhythm akin to breathing filled the atmosphere, pushing this way and that way, carrying him nowhere that he could tell. 

“He” didn’t exist. The flow did.

…

…

…?

...Cl...oud…?

Cloud…!

Cloud.

_Cloud._

A distinct shimmer on the horizon appeared, different from everything else. It kept getting larger and larger—was he moving or was it moving? The white streak enveloped him—he was—

_You’re quite lost, aren't you?_

Where am I?

_The Lifestream._

Who...are you?

_You don’t remember me? I’m disappointed._

You’re...Sephiroth.

_You do remember._

I don’t know what’s happening.

_I intended it that way. Though for you to end up here, I didn’t exactly mean to do that._

Can you get me out, then?

_Hmm…I don’t think you would want to, even if you could._

Just do it. I can’t stay here.

_Is there something you need to do?_

I don't know! You...put me here. 

_Not on purpose._

—Cloud! Can you hear me?

I’m Cloud. That’s...me.

_Oh, Cloud._

_—_ Concentrate on my voice! I’m gonna try to find you!

I’m here!

_I suppose you’re leaving after all._

—Try moving this way!

_I enjoyed being with you._

_—_ Cloud!

He gasped. His eyes shot open. 

“Cloud!”

Someone hovered above him, blurry. He blinked.

“He’s alive. Oh, Cloud, you’re okay.” 

“...Tifa?”

“Yeah, it’s me. How do you feel?”

He was lying on the ground, upper half propped up against something solid, digging into his back. Tifa kneeled next to him, gripping his right hand tightly in her own, clearly relieved. He tried to move his left arm, but only managed to shift it a little, his limbs like lead. “Can’t move,” he answered, voice coming out barely above a whisper.

“I’ve got you,” she said, and before he could protest she slipped her arms underneath his torso, lifting him up in the air gently. Why was he always being carried everywhere? Wait, when else did that happen?

“Alright,” someone else said, “let’s get back to the others.” 

He felt dizzy, not really all the way there, as Tifa carried him through what he assumed was a cave. They were probably underground, and there were mako pools around them, too, emitting little sparks every once in a while, forming shards that shattered into invisible pieces in the air and reforming again. It drew him in, beckoned him closer.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me, okay?” 

He jolted in her arms. “Sorry.”

They came to a stop eventually. He could make out more people standing around, though he didn’t recognize anyone, and it was hard to focus his vision. 

“We got him back,” the same girl from before said, “but he’s really weak. I’m sorry, Tifa—”

“It’s okay, Aerith. We did everything we could. Thank you for trying.” Tifa glanced down at him. “Do you remember anything at all? About Sephiroth?”

 _Sephiroth._ Sephiroth. List of highest-class demons. Shinra’s greatest achievement. Standing in a pentacle across from him, in his bedroom. Underneath him, as he brought the blade down, again and again and again and again.

“Cloud?”

“Oh, um...kind of. What happened?”

The other girl, with the pink bow in her hair—Aerith—asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Sephiroth cradling him in his arms. Black feathers that were the softest thing he’d ever felt. The stars, bright against the night sky above them both. A hand pressed to his mouth, stopping him, a blush climbing up his cheeks. 

“I don’t—I don’t know.”

“It’s alright. Just focus on one thing. One part of it.”

Blood was everywhere. Some of it dripped from his arm. The rest wasn’t his own. The sword in his hands was drenched in it. 

The sword.

 _Zack’s_ sword.

He choked, gasping for air—his limbs would be flailing helplessly if they weren’t so heavy—everything came rushing back all at once, horrifying realization coming over him, how could he have lost so much? Zack was _gone,_ Sephiroth had—Sephiroth had—

“Cloud—”

“Wait, just set him down and let him think through it.”

In the back of his mind he registered Tifa placing him onto the ground again, worry and anxiousness in her eyes. She shouldn't need to do that. He was the one that was supposed to help her, not the other way around.

“Sephiroth,” he whispered to himself. He shook his head. “I can only recall bits and pieces.”

“Let’s not push him. I’ll just have to do it myself,” Aerith declared, and there were immediately sounds of protest from the other people gathered around.

He heard Tifa say, “Is there really no other way?”

“I have the best chance, since I know he won’t just kill me immediately.” 

“What—” he coughed—”what is it?”

“Sephiroth used you to cast Meteor, which will completely destroy the Planet in about an hour if we don’t stop it. The only way to stop it would be to have him cancel it—but he would also need a physical link to do it.”

“But it means that the host will die, right?” Tifa interjects. “Aerith—”

“Cloud survived,” she pointed out.

“He can’t even stand! We don't know how long he has left!” 

Aerith knelt down next to her, grasping Tifa’s hands in her own. “I promise I’ll come back to you, okay? You just have to call for me.”

He could see the tears in Tifa’s eyes, threatening to spill as she and the others tried to delay the inevitable.

“I’ll do it,” he said, and before anyone could react he continued, “I’m already gonna die soon, aren’t I? So just let me do it. I’ve summoned him before.”

“Cloud, I just—I just found you again.” She was really crying now, sobbing into Aerith’s shoulder as the other girl hugged her tightly. “I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“I promised you. You care a lot about Aerith, right? If I’m going to die soon, I’m bringing Sephiroth down with me.” His resolve was set. He would make this decision himself, after being under Sephiroth’s control for so long.

“I can’t just put this on you,” she said weakly, shaking her head.

“Tifa, he’s right.” Aerith slowly let go of her, and turned to Cloud. “You’ll have to sit in the pentacle, but it should be okay. We need to move back to the inner cavern, though.”

Tifa took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped at her eyes. “Alright. Up you go, Cloud.” She lifted him gently into the air again. 

He let his eyes slip closed as they moved. Aerith reassured the group they would be fine by themselves. 

How long...how long had it even been since then? Since he’d tried to kill Sephiroth. It must have been years. Years that had been taken from him…

His memories up to the point in the mako reactor were clear, though after that, there were only flashes, a handful of moments suspended in time that all contained Sephiroth. He was sure Sephiroth had been controlling him all that time. But years? That didn’t feel right.

“Cloud?” 

He opened his eyes. Tifa helped him sit up, at least, then stepped carefully out of the pentacle that he presumed Aerith had drawn. Of course, he still remembered the words, had burned them into his memory so, so long ago.

“Okay, Cloud. You just have to replace the location of the pentacle with your name, then immediately give him the charge to stop it by speaking out loud. Got it?”

Belatedly, he realized there was only one pentacle. “Yeah...yeah, I can do that.”

He swallowed, took a deep breath. He spoke as softly as he could so he didn’t strain himself as much. He hesitated for just a second, then almost stumbled over his own name. The cave seemed to echo with it—his and Sephiroth’s, reverberating with barely contained power. It sapped his strength more and more; he felt lightheaded by the end.

A few seconds passed. 

Maybe he’d messed up. Maybe he really was too weak, or he’d remembered it wrong.

_Oh, it’s you again._

Cloud froze. 

“Cloud! Do it now!”

“I…”

_Ah, this is so familiar._

“I charge you to cancel the Meteor spell, with me as your physical link.”

_Oh, Cloud. I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about that._

“What—what do you mean you can’t—”

_You should already know._

He thought about it, and realized he could see _everything._

There was so much that was Sephiroth. He looked for what he knew was there: their first meeting, Nibelheim, _Zack._ That brought up a whole other slew of memories; he found _solace-warmth-trust_ mixed in with _guilt-regret-sadness_ amongst them, and then he came across something he didn’t remember at all. 

Himself, trapped in a mako tank in the same room he’d found years ago, summoning Sephiroth with a pentacle drawn in _essence,_ finding Zack already dead...he wanted to know why, and the answers were right there. 

_You shattered me into so many pieces, Cloud._

And he was one of them.

_Every other human they experimented on died._

Except for him. Was that on purpose?

_Who can say? I slept within the Lifestream those four years._

Zack died.

 _You think_ I _wanted to kill him?_

You did. You killed him, twice, and you’re trying to destroy the whole—

_The will of Mother, who all spirits were all once part of._

Isn’t the Lifestream supposed to protect the planet?

_It is—by destroying the creatures that have been enslaving and pulling apart its essence for so long._

So you’re just going to...let us all die?

_It is no longer in my control._

Don’t you care about—about people? Zack? The last remaining Cetra over there? _Me?_ You didn’t kill me, you didn’t crush my consciousness until you were forced to, and you still haven’t done it, even right now. You spent so much effort trying to destroy my memories that you ruined your own. You let us fall into the Lifestream because you knew I would have just died right after you cast Meteor. Right now, you’re letting me know all this by refusing to take control. 

_Cloud._

I know, I should hate you for everything you’ve done to me and everyone else I ever knew. And I do. I know, we both can’t tell where you start and I begin. So just...don’t.

_Cloud, I—_

I don’t regret summoning you. I still hate you. I still need you to do the right thing right now.

_I want to._

I could tell. The Cetra, right?

All of this was exchanged between them in just a second, entwined as they were. And yet Sephiroth didn't do a thing—Cloud said, himself, “Aerith, Sephiroth needs your help, too.”

“Alright.” She nodded and sat down next to him. “What do I need to do?”

Cloud took her hand in his so Sephiroth could speak to her directly, a conversation that he couldn't quite follow. She dipped her other hand in the nearby mako pool and closed her eyes.

_Cloud._

She’s going to try to connect with the Lifestream?

_Perhaps it will remember that it was once possible for spirits to exist peacefully._

She’ll make sure of it. She reached out to you before.

Before long, the ground started to shake underneath them. He stayed still, even as the ceiling started to crack, as pieces of debris rained down. He closed his eyes and heard a large chunk of rock almost crush them. Here, at the site where Mother had first sprung from the Lifestream, where the connection between ethereal and physical were strongest, surely, surely they would be able to—

The sounds stopped. The motion stopped. And then, Cloud felt himself begin slipping away.

Distantly, he could hear Aerith say, “Thank you, Cloud. And you, Sephiroth.”

His eyelids were so heavy. His chest ached with an old memory.

“Aerith!” Tifa shouted, rushing over. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah, I am.” She smiled brightly and squeezed Cloud’s hand. “We did it.”

Tifa took his other hand, and Aerith’s. “Oh, Cloud...Cloud, I’m so glad I saw you again.” 

“Me...too,” he managed. His vision started to fade in and out.

_The stars?_

Yeah.

_It’s regrettable that I can't hold you at the moment._

I miss your wing.

_It’s cosmetic._

I know.

_You will cease to exist. I will remain dormant within the Lifestream, which called all its spirits back as well._

Nice way to say I’m dying.

_I do not wish for you to do so._

I don’t either. But this isn’t so bad, I guess.

_Together._

Yeah. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, thank you so, so much to all of you for reading, kudos, and commenting!!! even if i didn’t get back to you, i truly appreciate it, they’ve been incredible motivation <3 this was my first ever multi chapter au i’ve ever consistently written and finished. with that i hope you aren’t disappointed with the ending ;; i thought about it a lot and wanted it to mirror the ending of the bartimaeus sequence as well. this fic obviously wouldn’t exist without the original book series, if you’re looking for more demon shenanigans please check it out!
> 
> thank you to my two wonderful irls who betaed for me, to you, who gifted me the books in the first place and have listened to us go on and on about sfkr for months, and to you, who watched cc and started playing remake during this fic, and are always onboard to talk about them in dms <33 your encouragement has been invaluable!!
> 
> some fun facts that i didn’t get to outright explain:  
> -sephiroth says cloud’s name a Lot, partially bc of the Name Thing, but he normally loves saying it anyways no matter the universe, right?  
> -part of the reason seph’s outfit changes is bc he’s used to being cloud  
> -i had an idea for seph to shift into zack but it was when i had a lot written already, so it didn’t happen. but the thought sure hurts  
> -cloud’s injury in chapter 2 is something seph got when he was first ambushed by shinra troops  
> 
> 
> i do have another sfkr au in the works so you might see that out at some point! or if you're interested check out my sephzack oneshot [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536625)


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